This is Not Goodbye
by Addicted2Damon
Summary: Bonnie has decided she's going to live her life to the fullest starting with taking a trip to Africa. Did she tell her best friend and ultimate soulmate Damon about her plans? This is the forgotten scene that should've been in series finale.


_This is Not Goodbye_

SYNOPSIS

Bonnie has decided she's going to live her life to the fullest starting with taking a trip to Africa. Did she tell her best friend and ultimate soulmate Damon about her plans? This is the forgotten scene that should've been in series finale.

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A roaring fire flickers in the fireplace and Damon is sitting on the floor in front of it with a glass of bourbon in hand and pondering a future without his little brother, but also with the woman he loves and never envisioned having at least for another 60 years give or take. There's also the fact that he's human again with all that comes with it. It's a bit overwhelming to him, but he has his friends to help him adjust to this new lease on life. Even though he's no longer a vampire with all the heightened senses that go with it, he heard her come through the door. Maybe it was just a gentle breeze when the door opened that alerted him to her presence, or maybe it was something else. In some ways he knows her better than she knows herself after having spent four months in the prison world. He knows her footsteps.

"BonBon, what brings you here?" He says without turn away from the fire.

"How did you...never mind." Bonnie says in response. Damon isn't a vampire anymore, but he is still Damon. She joined him by the fire. "How are you doing with everything?"

"It's an adjustment, Bon. It's still soaking in that Stefan is dead."

"I know it is," said Bonnie as she stroked his shoulder.

"What brings you by?" Damon said as he got up to refill his glass and pour one for his friend.

"Well, I came here to tell you that I'm going a little trip."

"Oh, where?" said Damon with an arched eyebrow.

"Africa and maybe travel to Asia."

"That's, that's huge." Damon said as he brought her a glass. "So, who's going with you?"

"I am traveling solo," she replied with a broad smile on her face. "If I've learned anything from what's happened to me and all of us is that life is short. I want to live for me, see more, do more and what better time to do it than now." Then she took a long drink from the glass he handed her.

"That, Bon, sounds like a helluva trip. That's a true adventure. I..." he let it the rest go unsaid.

"What? What were you going to say?" Bonnie said looking at Damon for an answer.

"Oh, it was nothing." Damon responded.

"No, tell me."

"It's just that it would be kinda nice to tag along with you. You know, be able to save you from all those vicious animals while on a safari." He said and imitated the roar of a lion.

"Awww!, Damon, I'll be all right. Don't worry about me. I'll be completely safe on the tours. Besides, I thought you'd want to spend every minute of the day with Elena."

"It's good. I'm selling to place to Alaric so he can renovate it to be used as the school for supernatural kids. I'm planning to help him with that when construction starts. I guess I was thinking that it would be good to take a real vacation from Mystic Falls. You know one that doesn't involve some supernatural fact finding mission. How long will you be gone?"

"Three months or maybe longer." Bonnie responded. "I'm just going to go with the flow."

Damon contemplated life without Bonnie for that long and it sucked. He was still going to miss her though he knew she'd return. It seemed like just when things were starting to come together for all of them, the woman who has come to mean so much to him was leaving town. Yeah, it was silly to make so much of a temporary thing.

"Hey, it's not that long", reassuring him by taking his free hand in hers and squeezing it slightly. He reciprocated her gesture. "Some things feel so foreign to me these days, Bon. It's sort of nice to have one constant."

She smiled at that remark. He was no doubt still grieving his brother's death, adjusting to becoming human, and living up to the idea of being the better man. That's overwhelming for anyone, especially given how long he has already lived.

"Okay, I've got to go run some errands and finish some last minute packing." She said as she stood. Damon joined her.

He walked her to her car. "I'm glad you stopped by tell me about your plans. It means a lot. Hey, you have fun and drop me line from time to time on your travels. Send some pictures if you can, too." Damon embraced her in a tight hug that she also reciprocated. She breathed him in taking in his smell that is all Damon. "I'll be back before you know it," she told him. "I'm holding you to it", he said in response to that. Finally, before pulling away she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Then before he could say anything, she was in her car.

Damon waved to her as she drove down the driveway. As he walked back into house, he smiled as he touched his cheek where her lips had once been.

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A/N - I hope you enjoyed this little scene. If you did, please leave me a comment. The kiss on the cheek was just as innocent as the one he gave her after rescuing her from Kai. I really feel they're in love with each other and they're definitely soulmates, but the circumstances are that he is with Elena seemingly for better or worse which does not allow these two soulmates to be together.


End file.
